Children's Carseats

In Canada, carseats do expire. If no expiration date is listed on the seat (usually on the bottom or sides), then the car seat expires six years from the date of manufacture. Some car seats expire after 10 years but if you don't have the manufacturer information then go with the six year rule.

Perhaps they mean that the carseat was old enough that it no longer meets the safety requirements need to transport a newborn. Depending on how old her friend's carseat is, they may have instituted stricter safety requirements that the old seat no longer complies with.

That's an interesting thought. I have no idea if the hospital can keep the baby from leaving with the mother. I would think they wouldn't even be standing around when the baby was put into the car. I assumed they'd wheel the mother out (I hate that they HAVE to wheel us out of the hospital - but then I doubt nurses like it either) and then retreat to the hospital. While it is definitely possible her carseat is out of date, she can find out for sure several ways. She could call DHS and they could give her the names of place to go that would look at the car seat and tell her if it is okay to use. DHS isn't going to like check it themselves, so she shouldn't be worried she'd get in trouble. It's not their business. And she could always do online searches about the safety requirements of car seats.

Yeah usually nurses won't let you leave unless it meets standards. I wouldn't trust it if its that old anyways. I had a handymedown one but it was only a year old and i needed a carseat. She should buy a used one thats more newer. Plus alot of those older ones may have unknown recalls on it. Someone gave my sister an old car seat. Turned out it came out in 1995 or so. It was not only old but had a recall on it for safety purposes. Better safe then sorry. Especially with such precious cargo.

nah how can a car seat expire lol, its made of plastic and foam, the nurses can stop you from taking your baby home if you dont have a suitable one according to the age of the baby. But no car seats dont expire etc etc

YES, CARSEATS DO EXPIRE!!! There is a label on the side, that tells you the expiration date. The hospital will end up probably loaning a car seat to your friend if she is not equipped with one that is up to date with the expiration dates. I didnt know this either until I had my daughter and I was paranoid that mine was going to be wrong! I think most of the brand new ones expire like 1-3 years after the production date. But yes this is very important, make sure she knows this!!!

Carseats do expire. The one that I had for my daughter when she was born in 2006 expired this year. So we needed to buy new carseats for my twins that were born in Feb. But then again who wouldnt want their baby to be the safest...Just buy her baby a new carseat so that not only will the baby be safe but also so that there will be no problems when she leaves the doctors. Good luck.

Yes, if you do not have an appropriately sized, correctly installed car seat they can refuse to let you take the baby home. Many places will help with this. She should see if the car seat is still acceptable for a newborn and then install it and have it checked out.

I'm Canadian and had my last child in 1993. Even at that time, the hospital required that I bring the removable part of my infant seat into the maternity ward to be inspected and they also verified that the base in the car was installed correctly. They checked that I knew how to secure my newborn in it correctly, as well, so that she would be as protected as possible in the event of an accident. (Apparently, a lot of new parents are afraid to secure their baby tight enough in the seat because they think they'll hurt the baby). Even in my pre-natal classes they "warned" us that the hospital would not allow us to leave with the baby until the car seat had been verified. New safety features and new technology means that baby products in general (including safety gates, high chairs, swings, play pens and even cribs) can definitely become outdated.

I think it is possible emilie. They are constantly updating and raising the standereds for carseats. I know when I had my kids, the nurses checked out my carseats and even made sure we installed them properly when we were leaving.

Ok yes children's carseats do have expiration date on them however, I never heard of a nurse walking outside to a car to check out the carseat. That is a bit ridulous. All carseats do become outdated and need to be replaced depending on the expiration date of the carseat eventually. I think for the most part though the child just grows out of it too.

I would suggest contacting the hospitan and asking wht the regulations are. Many hospitals and police departments will go over car-seat safty and actually help to show yo how to install them correctly for free. Crazy how laws and rules change eh? My boyfriend is always tlaking about how when he was born, when his mother brought him home she carried him, with no seatbelt..AND smoking a ciggarette! All totally illegal now, well, depending on your state. (Here in maine we just had a law get passed that makes i illegal to smoke in a vehicle if there are any occupants under the age of 16 riding in it)